Achill Island

Liam O'Malley was born in 1928, in Westport, County Mayo, not far from Achill Island. He was top of his class at the Christian Brothers School and on winning a scholarship to University College Dublin to study law; he could finally escape from the confines of Westport. Three years later, with a first class degree, he continued his studies in London. Lunching at Lyons Corner House, Trafalgar Square, he became carried away by a piano trio playing music popular at the time. One day at the end of a performance, Liam picked up a pile of music, which the pianist had accidentally dropped. Unbeknown to him, Claire Tebbit was the pianist in the trio. Liam invited Claire out to lunch and within two months they had fallen in love…